Quantum dots (QDs or QD for a singular dot) are semiconductor nanocrystals with their sizes in the quantum-confinement regime. QDs can emit light of specific frequencies if they have electricity or light applied to them, and the particular frequencies emitted may be tuned by changing one or more of the quantum dots size, shape, or material composition. The tunable electronic/emission properties of QDs make them commercially interesting for a variety of applications including transistors, solar cells, LED's, diode lasers and second harmonic generation, quantum computing, and medical imaging among others.
Group quantum dots, (i.e., QDs having elements from groups III and V of the Periodic Table of the Elements) are interesting materials for commercial applications because of their emission and electronic properties, and because they may have low toxicity, owing to being cadmium, lead and mercury free. However, in comparison to commonly used cadmium-based QDs, group III-V QDs tend to have lower photoluminescence (PL) quantum yield, more photochemical and chemical instability, and a broader and less homogenous PL peak, properties that are major challenges for their wide commercial application.